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On the trekking trail!

25-26 April Project Himalaya

A heli ride to get out of Kathmandu and now they are in Everest BC; they can tell their own stories.

25 April Everest Peace Project

Yesterday we partially packed the loads ready for the yaks today. We woke early and finished packing then the loads were all weighed and totaled up. We were allowed 15 yaks - we had already used 29 - and we had loads for 34! Just a little bit overweight. Still, nothing that money couldn't solve and the liaison officers were gracious and made arrangements that pleased everyone, with an official receipt too.

Our yaks beginning the walk up to Interim Camp, Everest in the background.

Lance and myself set off at around 11:30, and I caught up some of the group before Interim. We set up four tents and the sherpas melted ice for us, we ate dehy food, AlpineAire, and the Fruit and Blueberry cobbler was so good I ate another for breakfast.

With the 600m gain in altitude a few people didn't sleep so well. I slept outside to test my new Mountain Hardwear Wraith sleeping bag, their second to top of the range. It was warm enough to keep a little tickle of a cold developing, even though it snowed.

Nawang Tseri, Tibetan kitchen hand and general help, having a rare moment of rest.
His father, Karsang, worked for us on several expeditions including Everest 2003.

Tawa, our cook and a familiar name to followers, kitted as a mountain man.

Tawa has asked to carry loads to the North Col to get out of the kitchen. I always try to take strong cooks. Namgyal, our climbing sirdar and EPP team member summitted Cho Oyu first with me as a cook in 2001 and has taken every opportunity his way on an accelerated career path.

In 2003 I carried a load as a sherpa so that Banjo could summit, but it was Temba, again cook for the Project Himalaya expedition, who carried a load to 8210m enabling myself to summit Everest.

Norbu, Tibetan kitchen hand, carries Lance's video and computer gear, and Namgyal behind

27 April EPP

We woke after a rough night, 1200m altitude gain in two days is hard on the body but plenty of drugs solved most of the problems. Finding our best coffee also helped.

Amazingly enough using a 5 watt hand held Yaesu radio we could hit the base camp base station with a 4 metre aerial, just, and once we set up our second base station here we had good communications with base camp. Usually this has been an extremely difficult 'hit', and even the Royal Navy with a repeater had issues. Yaesu radios are the best, and they don't even sponsor us.